Authorities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are each struggling to claim the moral high ground after a January 11 border clash left security forces wounded on both sides. The challenge now is for officials in the two countries to keep populist impulses at bay, experts say.

All of the Kyrgyz citizens being held hostage after a border clash in Uzbekistan's Sokh exclave have been released.

The Kyrgyz Border Guard Service's chief of staff, Iskender Mambetaliev, told journalists on January 7 that the release came as a result of negotiations between the Uzbek authorities and local citizens of Uzbekistan's Sokh district.